School Holiday Fines

Guest101

Mojisola wrote: »

Not to mention the government!
"You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school’s permission."
https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/overview

You can be fined - by a court

Guest101

maman wrote: »

Are you sure MOST parents would choose home schooling? I get the feeling that they value the child care in schools above any educational advantage as evidenced by the moaning about training days or even snow!

Imagine if you as an adult had 13 weeks holiday agreed with an employer then chose to take additional time for a family holiday. Would you describe the employer as inflexible if they sacked you?

Yes I would.

FBaby

The government, LA, schools look after its population. Parents look after their own kids. What's best for a population isn't forcibly what is best for its individual constituents.

maman

FBaby wrote: »

The government, LA, schools look after its population. Parents look after their own kids. What's best for a population isn't forcibly what is best for its individual constituents.

If you choose to enrol your child in a state school then you buy into the rules of that 'club'. If you want to write your own rules for your own child then choose home schooling. You can't pick and choose which rules to uphold to suit yourself.

FBaby

If you choose to enrol your child in a state school then you buy into the rules of that 'club'. If you want to write your own rules for your own child then choose home schooling. You can't pick and choose which rules to uphold to suit yourself.

Of course you can, people do so all the time in all aspects of life when they believe the rules to be unfair.

I have been lucky in that my kids' school also don't believe in the system and therefore never reported me for a fine. They judge whether a fine should apply on whether my kids absence will be detrimental to them as individuals. They've agreed with me that it wouldn't be. I've never been fined, even when I took them out for 10 days last year (didn't mean to, thought the dates coincided with a holiday but got my dates wrong 14 months earlier).

julie777

foxster99 wrote: »

you know when you have been deemed to have broken the law when you are issued with a fine. You can settle the offence for the period in question in full by paying the fine. You will not have a criminal record for this.

If you either don't pay a fine or if you are prosecuted for your child's non-regular attendance then you have to go to court and if found guilty (which is statistically far and away the most likely outcome) then you will receive greater penalties between £120 plus costs (typically a few hundred pounds) for each parent, up to a £2500 fine and 3 months in jail for each parent. You will also then have a criminal record that can bar you from or get you sacked from some jobs. It can also affect your rights to be in the uk if a non-citizen.

Your child's attendance at school is serious stuff. A child's right to an education is guaranteed in the highest legislation and courts, all the way up to the un. Depriving a child of this right is considered a form of abuse and you do so at your peril.

thanks for your advice you seem very knowledgeable. Do you have qualifications or are you a well-informed parent?

Guest101

julie777 wrote: »

thanks for your advice you seem very knowledgeable. Do you have qualifications or are you a well-informed parent?

I believe he / she is a teacher.

maman

maman wrote: »

If you choose to enrol your child in a state school then you buy into the rules of that 'club'. If you want to write your own rules for your own child then choose home schooling. You can't pick and choose which rules to uphold to suit yourself.

FBaby wrote: »

Of course you can, people do so all the time in all aspects of life when they believe the rules to be unfair.

I have been lucky in that my kids' school also don't believe in the system and therefore never reported me for a fine. They judge whether a fine should apply on whether my kids absence will be detrimental to them as individuals. They've agreed with me that it wouldn't be. I've never been fined, even when I took them out for 10 days last year (didn't mean to, thought the dates coincided with a holiday but got my dates wrong 14 months earlier).

I think what you're saying is that you've been fortunate enough to get away with not following the rules. You haven't paid any fines as your school has chosen to let you get away with it presumably because it was a genuine error. I also know that some schools, particularly in deprived areas, will allow children to take holidays because they want them to have some experiences outside school and having a holiday for them is truly exceptional.


I wasn't aware that finding rules unfair was exceptional circumstances.

Guest101

maman wrote: »

I think what you're saying is that you've been fortunate enough to get away with not following the rules. You haven't paid any fines as your school has chosen to let you get away with it presumably because it was a genuine error. I also know that some schools, particularly in deprived areas, will allow children to take holidays because they want them to have some experiences outside school and having a holiday for them is truly exceptional.


I wasn't aware that finding rules unfair was exceptional circumstances.

There's a difference I think between unfair and wrong. I think many people think the rule is wrong, morally (obviously not legally)

FBaby

I think what you're saying is that you've been fortunate enough to get away with not following the rules. You haven't paid any fines as your school has chosen to let you get away with it presumably because it was a genuine error. I also know that some schools, particularly in deprived areas, will allow children to take holidays because they want them to have some experiences outside school and having a holiday for them is truly exceptional.

I know it is hard for some people strongly anti term-time holiday to believe that some teachers and heads are not as categorical about its negative impact as them.

The reasons why I wasn't fine is that firstly I don't make a habit of it, secondly, my kids attendance is otherwise exemplary (no sick day last year, only one this year so far and that was as due to fever following the meningitis injection and thirdly, both of them are straight A students. The school doesn't believe that their education will be affected by a few days away (and indeed, they have always caught on what they've missed within a few days) and most importantly they have bigger fish to fry.

The last time I took them out of 10 days, a number of teachers actually offered themselves to email them the learning they were missing.

I'm not the type to go and shout about my rights as a parent if I'd been fined, I would have paid it without a fuss, but I also don't believe that this legislation is aimed at pupils like my kids and I am confident that their studies has not been detrimentally affected by these few days out of their whole education as was whoever decided not to refer the case to the LA.